Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology

The MA in Clinical Psychology is a professional degree that trains candidates for professional practice as Psychologists and for registration with the Professional Board for Psychology of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPSA). This qualification will be superseded by the D Psych degree in 2004.

A minimum of an Honours degree in Psychology, or a BPsych degree or equivalent is required for admission. Candidates who have other degrees may be admitted if they have completed 4 years of study in Psychology.

Senior Certificate with Matriculation Exemption or Equivalent university admission qualification.

First degree

BA/BSoSc

Honours degree

BA (Hons) or BSocSc (Hons) in Psychology

Recognition of prior learning

Non-Honours graduates who have shown by examination or publication or a record of appropriate training that they have reached a level in the subject or a cognate subject equivalent to an Honours bachelor`s degree may be permitted to register for the degree

Cross-field outcomes

a) Critical cross-field outcomes

b) General outcomes

c) Specific outcomes

The MA in Clinical Psychology graduate will have the ability to practice independently as a professional psychologist. The graduate will therefore be able to demonstrate the following central competencies:

• the ability to undertake full responsibility for clinical case management with adults, children, and families;
• the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team in a mental health context;
• the ability to diagnose psychological disorder in children and adults;
• the ability to perform psychological assessments of children and adults in clinical and other settings;
• the ability to select appropriate psychological tests to arrive at a diagnosis and formulate a plan of treatment, including tests of cognitive, personality and neurological functioning;
• the ability to search the professional literature for information pertaining to the management of clinical cases;
• the ability to search the professional literature for information pertaining to the management of clinical cases;
• the ability to write professional psychological reports to a range of audiences;
• the ability to conduct a range of behaviour change modalities (both short and long term) including group therapy, family therapy, and individual psychological therapies with children and adults;
• the ability to consult to state and community agencies in the mental health field;
• the ability to act in a professional manner that demonstrates thorough familiarity with the professional ethical code for Psychologists
• Be familiar with mental health and related policy;
• Understand when to refer cases to other specialists where appropriate;
• The ability to undertake research in applied psychology.

1. Specific Professional degree. See sections 3 & 6.
2. Specific Professional degree. See sections 3 & 6.
3. These competencies are assessed both formatively and summatively. The main formative aspect is the supervision of all aspects of emerging competencies throughout the programme. The competencies are summatively assessed using written and oral professional examinations when each phase of the training has been completed. The final assessment of clinical competence in all areas is evaluated through the presentation (and oral defence) of integrated case management reports at the end of the clinical internship year (year 3).
4. Research competence is assessed through the examination of a minor dissertation. The assessment criteria are too numerous and varied to detail here. In the practical skill domain the candidate has to demonstrate an ability to function independently as a clinical psychologist in all clinical areas. A key criterion is the candidates ability to demonstrate an ability to integrate clinical knowledge that is appropriate to the management of the clinical case. In the research domain, the candidate is assessed on the usual criteria that pertain to satisfactory completion of a research dissertation.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT

The final assessment of clinical competence in all areas is evaluated by examination of the full range of professional, ethical, case management, behaviour change, assessment and consultation abilities (see section 3c), through the presentation (and oral defence) of integrated case management and consultation reports at the end of the final year of the programme.

Research competence is assessed through the examination of the minor dissertation. The dissertation has to demonstrate the following competencies:

• precise research problem formulation;
• familiarity with and integration of the specialised literature that informs the research question;
• appropriate design and execution of the research;
• use of appropriate methods of measurement and data analysis
• integration of findings
• ability to address the ethical problems that might attend the research;
• appreciation of the methodological limitations of the study;
• use of the publication and style conventions of the discipline

All aspects of the programme are subject to external examination.